The Conjuring: Last Rites (15) |Close-Up Film Review
Dir: Michael Chaves, 2025, Canada/US, 135min
Cast: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Elliot Cowan
Review by Matthew Kamara
The story brings Ed and Lorraine Warren (played once again by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) back for one final case. They’re retired, but of course the supernatural isn’t quite finished with them. This time they’re called to help the Smurl family, who are being tormented by a haunted mirror that links all the way back to one of the Warrens’ earliest cases. Right from the start, the film had me thinking: “This is it. Their last stand.”
Wilson and Farmiga are fantastic together, just like they’ve always been, but what I love most is how natural they still feel in these roles. Their chemistry has always shone through even in the most scariest moments. Mia Tomlinson also stands out as their daughter Judy, and Ben Hardy brings a nice energy to the role of her boyfriend Tony. It’s great seeing the next generation actors getting the limelight or maybe a possible cameo in a spin-off?
Visually, the film really leans into that eighties vibe, with some creepy visuals that stuck with me. And the jump scares are spot on. Just when you think you’re safe, boom something gets you. Then out of nowhere, there are moments that make you chuckle. That balance of tension and laughter is what has made the Conjuring films so much fun to watch over the years.
Without giving too much away, the story ties the whole franchise back to that cursed mirror in a way I didn’t expect. It feels like the director was giving us one final cheeky wink, leaving the door open but also merging the story together in a fitting and exciting farewell to the Warrens’ story. Scary, funny, emotional – it has it all.
